Sprint says Microsoft has to work harder on building enthusiasm for the product

In the midst of announcing its commitment to LTE and the upcoming death of WiMAX smartphones at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Sprint had a lot of great things to say about Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile operating system, but couldn't share the same sentiment for Microsoft's Windows Phone OS.

Sprint has had a busy CES so far. Its upcoming jump to LTE has been the main focus, discussing the launch and the ever-popular question regarding truly unlimited plans.

According to David Owens, Sprint's VP of Product Realization, Sprint is dedicated to LTE and will be beefing up its LTE line-up with Android-based phones this year. In fact, the carrier introduced its first two LTE phones at CES this week: the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper.

Owens said Sprint is planning to launch these two phones and other LTE phone options by midyear when it launches LTE. He expects April through August of this year to be a pretty busy time for the carrier as it prepares for the launches, but couldn't answer whether the LTE plans would be truly unlimited. Instead, he just said pricing and service plans are unavailable at this time, but mentioned that the Galaxy Nexus is "tailored for an unlimited plan."

In this case, it's out with the old and in with the new. With the introduction of LTE this year, Sprint announced it will no longer make any new WiMAX smartphones.

But Owens promises there's plenty to look forward to with the LTE Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper smartphones, such as the availability of Google Wallet, better Google Voice integration, a load of apps, and a faster, more complete network.

Owens couldn't say enough positive things about Android (and even Apple's) OS', but really couldn't share that enthusiasm for Microsoft's Windows Phone OS because of poor sales and the inability for the product's to "take off."

"We have a Windows device in our lineup, but honestly, it hasn't done well enough for us to jump back into the fire," said Owens. "We told Microsoft, 'You guys have to go build the enthusiasm for the product. We'll train our reps on why it's great.' But the number one reason the product was returned was the user experience.

"There's a tremendous market momentum that Apple has...and I think Ice Cream Sandwich, and what Android's doing, will continue to have momentum. It squeezes down to such a small subset what's left."

Sprint is considering bringing another Windows Phone onboard around August or September.

The model here is that the phone is supported by the carrier (and manufacturer), which requires training all your support personnel, having inventory of phones to use as replacements, and being able to guarantee a level of service quality.

I think the mindset of most Americans is to not think about fixing anything, or dealing with any problems. They just want it to work out of the box, and are willing to pay for that level of convenience.

The carriers here do not train their personnel on fixing or troubleshooting the phones (at least at Verizon). You get a replacement if you're under warranty; otherwise, you're on your own to go to the manufacturer.

The stand on repairs is not a mindset issue for most people, it's the economics.